


How Emma Spencer Learned to Love Math

by ReasonPapers



Category: Guiding Light
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 02:40:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16484483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReasonPapers/pseuds/ReasonPapers
Summary: Emma's family has been divided, and in her eyes, it just doesn't add up.  What will it take for the grown-ups to do the math, and figure out what really matters?





	How Emma Spencer Learned to Love Math

**Author's Note:**

> I'm consolidating some fics here on AO3, like this 2009 fic. Enjoy!

**Addition**

Addition had made perfect sense. 

_“Peanut butter and jelly—strawberry this time,” Natalia winked._

_“I’ve got your backpack,” Olivia said, rushing into the kitchen from the living room.  “I signed your permission slip, it’s in the small pocket.”_

_“Ah, the big pocket is still unzipped!” Natalia said, taking the backpack from Natalie and passing it to Emma.  “That’s okay, here, put your lunch in.”_

_Quick checks.  “Are we good?” Olivia asked._

_Emma gave a big, goofy grin.  “We’re so good.”_

_“Alright, Natalia will pick you up today, but I’m bringing home pizza, so get excited.  We love you!”_

One mommy plus one mommy equals my two mommies.  Math was  _so_ easy.

 

**Subtraction**

Two minus one equals 1.  But that wasn’t true.

_“I am so excited that you are coming to visit, Emma!” Ava beamed._

_Emma gave a forced laugh.  “Me, too.”_

_Olivia gave a shaky smile.  Emma saw right through it, saw right through the dark circles under her mother’s eyes, knew what had happened.  Just because she didn’t always understand strange grown-up math didn’t mean she was stupid.  It was all supposed to be okay but it wasn’t._

Two mommies minus one mommy was supposed to equal one mommy.   _Olivia waved to her as she got on the airplane._  

Two mommies minus one mommy.  Less than one mommy.

 

**Multiplication**

One times one equals one.

_The conversation at Company had been awfully loud.  “This family is growing and multiplying all the time!”  Emma had tried to compute this as the icecream in the bowl before her slowly melted.  “And Frank is going to be a dad again!” Cheers from the Cooper family._

One Frank times one Natalia equals one baby.

_“Are you done with your icecream, Sweetheart?” Olivia asked, assuming an answer.  “Let’s go then.”_

One Frank times one Natalia times one Olivia equals one baby.

One Frank times one Natalia times one Olivia times one Emma equals one baby sister.

_Olivia slammed a few bills on the table, grabbed her daughter’s hand, and was out the door before Emma could even put down her spoon._

One times one times one times one equals one…

But Emma didn’t feel like a part of the equation.

 

**Division**

_The teacher knelt down next to Emma’s desk, noticing that nothing had been filled in on her worksheet._

_“Are you still stuck on the first one?” the teacher asked kindly.  “Let’s take a look.  What is seven divided by two?”_

_Emma stared at the page.  “This is stupid,” she muttered.  “Why do I have to do this?”_

_Mrs. Jennings was taken aback by the girl’s remark.  “Division is very important, Emma.  You’ll see it come up in all sorts of—“_

_“Who says seven wants to be divided by two anyway?”_

_The teacher chose to ignore Emma’s remark, and patiently helped her to draw out seven circles and divide them into three boxes._

_“There’s one left,” Emma announced._

_“Right.  That’s the remainder!” Mrs. Jennings beamed at the accomplishment._

_“But… that’s not fair.”_

_“Well, this is just numbers, Emma, we’re not worried about what’s fair yet.”_

_Emma glared at the worksheet and watched the numbers blur.  She loved her mother very much, but she was still sad.  She crumpled the worksheet into a tiny ball and hurled it into the trashcan._

This was what division did.

Three had been divided by… something.  She wasn’t sure.  Now they were all a bunch of remainder ones. 

 

**Pi**

_Olivia took a deep breath and opened the door to Emma’s room.  The little girl was hunched over her desk, math folder open.  She was squinting at the work in front of her, obviously frustrated.  “Can I help you with your homework, sweetheart?”_

_“I don’t need your help,” Emma spat without bothering to turn around._

_Olivia rested a gentle hand on Emma’s shoulder.  “Look, Jellybean, Mrs. Jennings is really concerned.  The other students in the advanced math class are getting ready to move on to their geometry unit, but she’s worried that you’re really struggling.  I am, too.  You know, it’s okay to ask for help.”_

It wasn’t that Emma didn’t get it, it was just that no one else seemed to.  Pi, Mrs. Jennings had explained, was a constant.  More than that, it was a number that could go on forever.

Why couldn’t other things be like that?

 

**Geometry**

Mrs. Jennings agreed to let Emma continue with her advanced class into the geometry unit under the condition that she got a tutor.  Geometry was what made all the difference.

_“This is going to be the longest two hours of our lives.”_

_“Come on, Em, this will help you get better at math.”_

_Emma waited a moment.  “This is going to be the longest one hour, fifty-nine minutes, and fifty-five seconds of our lives.”  She raised her eyebrow pointedly, and Jane knew exactly where she had learned that look.  “I don’t need help with math.  Everyone else does.”_

_“Ugh,” Jane sighed heavily.  “Just humor me, please?”  She pointed at a diagram in the ‘Principles of Geometry’ book.  “See those two dots?  What’s the fastest way to connect them?”_

_“By putting them together?”_

_“No, no, if they can’t move.”_

_“I don’t know!  Why is this important?”_

_“With a straight line.”_

_Emma threw her small hands into the air.  “That’s the answer?  A straight line?  That was a trick question, it was like you didn’t even want me to think!”_

_“Well, that’s the answer you get for now.  Anyway—“_

_“Wait,” Emma stopped, genuinely curious.  “What do you mean ‘for now?’”_

_“I don’t want to confuse you, or anything, I don’t know why—“_

_“I want to know!” Emma insisted._

_“Well,” Jane hesitated, regretting she’d ever uttered that little aside, “the only way to get somewhere faster than with a straight line is to move through time.”_

_Emma looked away thoughtfully, and her eyes lit up._

_“Anyway, that’s big-kid math, that’s like, physics.  Kind of.  I didn’t get a lot of physics.”_

_“No,” Emma said, almost smiling.  “I think I get it.”_

Point A to Point B.  There had to be a better way.

 

**Word Problems**

She was not the one that needed a math lesson.  She got that now.

_Olivia was getting ready for bed.  She turned off the bathroom light, and went to tuck in Emma, who peered over her “Principles of Geometry” book coyly._

_“Enjoying some light bedtime reading there, huh, Jellybean?”_

_Emma closed the book.  “Are we going to be a family with Natalia again?”_

_The grin slid from Olivia’s face.  “A little light conversation, too.”_

_“Wait, wait, I’m changing my question.  Do you want to be a family with Natalia again?”_

_“Sweetheart, it’s more complicated than that—“_

_“Why is everyone making everything complicated?  Math isn’t hard.  Being a family with Natalia isn’t hard.  I want to be a family again.  I know Natalia wants to be a family again.  And I thought you did, too!”_

_Olivia tried to give the most honest, yet diplomatic answer she could to her little girl.  “Someday, I would like to be a family again.  I don’t know when I’ll be ready for us to get to that point.”_

_“The fastest way to get to a point isn’t always in a straight line.  Sometimes you have to speed up time.”_

_Olivia made a mental note to call Jane and find out what the hell kind of tutoring sessions she was running.  “Baby, I’m not sure I can speed up time,” she said slowly._

_Emma blinked up at her mother and spoke gently, as if she were explaining things to a small child.  “Mom, you just said you wanted our family back.  Well, if I want our family back… and Natalia wants our family back… you do the math.”_

**Tests**

_Emma stopped at the door and giggled devilishly for a moment.  Then she straightened herself out, put on a frown, and dragged herself sulkily inside._

_“Baby, what’s the matter?”_

_Emma tore her eyes away from her shoes and lifted a heavy head, though she still avoided her mother’s eyes._

_“You have to sign my math test.”_

_Olivia’s heart sank as Emma held out the paper.  “Oh, Em,” she began.  Then she glanced down.  At the top of the page was written “19/20, 95%.”  “Emma!” Olivia exclaimed._

_Emma threw herself into a kitchen chair, delirious with her own laughter.  “Gotcha!”_

_Olivia leapt from her seat to wrap her daughter in a happy hug.  “This is great!” she said.  “Do I really have to sign it?”_

_“No, I just took it home to show you.  Can we show it to Natalia?”_

_“I’m putting it on the refrigerator door right now,” Olivia said, getting up.  “She’ll see it as soon as she gets back from the store.”_

_Emma smiled proudly, and when her mother wasn’t looking, she used a free magnet to add a recent picture of them all having a picnic in the backyard._

There was lots to be proud of.

_“We are so, so proud of you, Emma,” Natalia said affectionately, kissing the little girl on the head as she tucked her under the covers.  Olivia leaned against the doorway, glowing at the sight._

_“Sweet dreams, Jellybean,” Olivia said, flicking off the light as Natalia followed her out the door._

_“She came a long way!” Natalia remarked, out of earshot in the hallway.  “Mrs. Jennings was going to pull her out of advanced math.  And now she practically aced her test!  Wonderful.”_

_“It is wonderful,” Olivia hummed._

_Natalia examined Olivia’s expression.  “I can’t tell if you’re happy or smug,” she said inquisitively._

_“Both.  I’m happy that Emma passed her test.”_

_“And?”_

_“And a little smug that we finally passed ours.”_

_Natalia groaned and gave Olivia a begrudgingly amused kiss._

_“Just one little kiss?” Olivia sighed as Natalia pulled away._

_“Well, if we head into our room, maybe we can add to that,” Natalia winked._

_Olivia followed her hungrily._

She was there.  100%.

 

 


End file.
